Salem, ore. (AP) – For the first time in the country, Oregon has refused to charge drug users with criminal offenses, leading voters to go through voting criteria that deny possession of heroin, methamphetamine, LSD, xycodone and other hard drugs.
“Today’s victory is an important announcement that it is time for people to stop committing drug crimes,” said Cassandra Frederick, executive director of the drug policy policy behind the move. “Criteria 110 is the biggest blow to the war on drugs to date.”
The move completely changes how Oregon’s justice system deals with the amount of individual use of hard drugs.
Instead of going to trial and facing potential jail time, the person will have the option of attending or paying a 100 100 fine at the new “addiction rehabilitation centers” funded by millions of dollars in tax revenue from Reg Regan’s legal, regulated marijuana industry.
The move leads to Reg Reagan becoming the first state to deny possession of marijuana in 1973, the first state in the United States to attempt such a drug. The move applies 30 days after Tuesday’s election, but the sentencing changes do not apply until February. 1. Addiction recovery centers should be available by October 1.
That sounds like a radical concept, but proponents of the initiative say criminalizing drug users – locking them up and imposing criminal records on them that made it difficult to find housing and jobs – didn’t work.
One in 11 Regonians is addicted to drugs, and about two people die of overdose every day in the state, the Oregon Nurses Association, the Reg Reagan Chapter American College of Physicians and the Reg Reagan Academy of Family Physicians.
“We urgently need change to save families and save lives,” he wrote.
According to estimates made by the Reagan Criminal Justice Commission each year, less than 00,000 Oregonians will be convicted of possession or possession of controlled substances.
The move is likely to significantly reduce racial and ethnic discrimination in both probation and arrest, the commission, which is an official state agency, said.
This approach is new in the United States, while in the United States, many countries, including Portugal, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, have declared possession of low-dose hard drugs.
There has been no increase in drug use since Portugal’s 2000 declaration. The number of people seeking treatment for drug addiction in the country increased by 20% from 2001 to 2008 and then stabilized, Portuguese officials said.
“This is a big step in moving toward a health-oriented approach rather than a criminal one, and we’re considering significant new resources for O’Reilly’s need,” said Jenny Gulikson, co-chief applicant for Major 110.
The move was approved by 59% of the nearly 2 million votes counted so far, according to the secretary of state office.
Two dozen district attorneys said the move is reckless and would increase acceptance of dangerous drugs. Two of Reagan’s most populous counties and two other district attorneys, including Portland, supported the move, such as the district attorney-elect.
This step does not apply to past validity. But the Drug Policy Alliance said it would champion any effort by the legislature to break that criminal record, citing legislators in a bill passed last year that allowed marijuana charges to be kept separate.
“We and the coalition partners will work to ensure that records are broken in the future,” said Thesia Naidu, managing director of legal affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance.
Oregon voters also on Tuesday, with a two-year development period, legalized the therapeutic use of psilocybin mushrooms. Supported by veterans of the war with PTSD, temporarily ill patients and others suffering from anxiety.
This measure requires the reg Reagan Health Authority to allow licensed, regulatory production and possession of silosilobin for administration by a licensed facility for clients.
Prior to Tuesday’s election, Oregon was in 11 states, as well as Washington, D.C., which legalized marijuana.
Several other states are also suing. Voters in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota on Tuesday approved all voting measures to legalize marijuana for adults.
___
Follow Andrew Selsky on Twitter at https://twitter.com/andrewselky
.